A Finer Grained Assessment Approach for Literacy Learners

1. A Finer Grained Assessment Approach for Literacy Learners Michael Christie LINC Tasmania Jennifer Dunbabin Skills Tasmania …and the learning goes on: anytime, anywhere, anyhow, anyone VALBEC Conference 16 May 2014

2. Outline of session • Tasmanian Adult Literacy Action Plan 2010-15 • Measuring and Reporting Learner Progress • Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) • ACSF finer grained options • Exploring finer grained options: 2 projects • Next steps

3. Tasmanian Adult Literacy Action Plan 2010-15 • Tasmania state government funded plan • 3 strategies • Informal community and workplace network of adult literacy support—26TEN + Skills Tasmania + LINC Tasmania • State wide literacy coordinator network supported by trained volunteers—LINC Tasmania • Key indicators to measure improvements in adult literacy support and outcomes—Skills Tasmania + LICN Tasmania

4. Tasmanian Adult Literacy Action Plan 2010-15 • 26TEN-Skills Tasmania Community and Workplace literacy programs • Grants programs-external • LINC Tasmania Community programs • One-to-one volunteer tutoring • Small group literacy support • Community grants program-internal • Action Plan key indicators • Education, employment, confidence and self-esteem outcomes • ACSF core skills improvement—rise one level in one indicator

5. Measuring and Reporting Learner Progress • Grants programs—workplace and community • Range of projects: many target specific skills, 1 to 2 weeks duration, short time spent in learning activity • Difficult to perform pre- and post-assessments • Literacy skills embedded in community programs • One-to-one tutoring and small group programs • Can be long term (up to 3 years) but 1 to 2 hours p/week. • Focus on building Learning skills and learner identity for low skilled learners • High proportion are pre-level 1 or level 1 in one or more Core Skills. These are generally hardest + slowest to make skill improvements

6. Measuring and Reporting Learner Progress 3 purposes—who and what is the assessment for? • To provide feedback to and for the learner (learner centred—Lifelong Learning) • To hone and program teaching and learning activities (teacher-tutor centred—Improving teaching and learning) • To account for program performance (funder-centred—Systems accountability and reporting) Activity • What sorts of learner progress do you see in your program? • How do you measure this progress? • What evidence do you use to demonstrate this progress? • Who is this measurement for?

7. Australian Core Skills Framework Overview Page 10 ACSF

8. Australian Core Skills Framework • A framework for: • Assessment • Programming learning activities • Mapping training programs to benchmarked skills levels • A training package (Foundation Skills) • Doesn’t come with instructions on how to use as an assessment tool • Activity • Do you use the ACSF? • How do you use it?

9. Australian Core Skills Framework • What constitutes progress? • Movement between finer grained measures? • Provide evidence of gain • against a core skill • against one indicator in a core skill • against a predominant focus area/s for a core skill • in an indicator against performance features • in a core skill using text types • against level of support • against domains

10. Australian Core Skills Framework

11. Australian Core Skills Framework Domains of Communication

12. Using finer grained measures in a community program

13. Using finer grained measures in a community program

14. Exploring finer grained measures in a workplace program

17. Next Steps • Comments? • Critique? • Could this approach be applied or trialled in your program? • Trial project

18. A Finer Grained Assessment Approach for Literacy Learners • Contact Jennifer Dunbabin jennifer.dunbabin@skills.tas.gov.au Michael Christie michael.christie@education.tas.gov.au.au • Further information